Flamingos make their way around Franklin County, beyond

I have a lot to tell you about today, but first, a mystery has been solved.

Remember I told you about the pink flamingos on the front lawn of an Erving home on Route 2 late this past winter? A photograph of them ended up in the N.Y. Times magazine.

I heard from Rinky Black, who told me that a couple of years ago her daughter had a client in the Stowe area of Vermont who went on vacation and while he was gone, his sisters “flocked” his yard with 60 flamingos to celebrate his 60th birthday. He wasn’t impressed and asked that someone take them away.

So, Rinky’s daughter did and the birds migrated south to the Farley section of Erving, where they landed in Rinky’s yard to celebrate her husband’s 60th birthday.

They were borrowed from there for a friend’s 60th, and a year later they landed in Rinky’s husband’s sister’s yard, where they were photographed in the snow this past winter and ended up in the magazine.

They have since migrated to Northfield to celebrate the 60th birthday of one of Rinky’s relatives. She said they remain in a field off Gulf Road, at least until it’s time to mow.

Here’s what some of our neighbors have been doing:

GREENFIELD KIWANIS CLUB had its 56th annual auction on May 8 and 9 and raised almost $20,000 for local scholarships and community activities. More than 50 volunteers and many donations from local businesses helped make the auction a great success, I’m told.

RECORDER REPORTER RICHIE DAVIS recently wrote a Life & Times feature about Greenfield folksinger Lorre Wyatt, who released an album with his longtime friend Pete Seeger.

While doing some research, Richie found that folk legend Seeger’s very first recording in his discography is a 78RPM set of Norman Corwin’s “on A Note of Triumph,” released in 1945. Corwin, who was a pioneering radio journalist at CBS, as well as a writer, screenwriter, producer and essayist, got his start at The Greenfield Recorder in 1929.

If you would like to hear Norman Corwin’s best-known work, which National Public Radio has called, “one of the great masterpieces of radio’s golden era,” visit: http://npr/czPos1.

GREENFIELD HIGH SCHOOL’S CLASS of 1996 recently dug up and relocated a time capsule it had buried, because it didn’t want it to be lost during construction of the new high school, according to class member Fred Parody.

I TOLD YOU LAST WEEK THAT THE KINDERGARTEN CLASS at Sanderson Academy is raising money for Relay for Life, but it is actually the entire school. Also, there is a new twist: if the school raises $500, it is not just the kindergarten teacher who will be taped to a wall, but the principal, as well.

AN ONLINE COPY OF A 2013 LOCALLY GROWN FARM PRODUCTS GUIDE may be found at: www.buylocalfood.org. It is produced by Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year and is hoping even more people will take its Local Hero Challenge and buy food and other products from local farms.

GREENFIELD HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF 1973 will hold its 40th class reunion on Columbus Day weekend this year, and organizers are worried because they haven’t been able to find everyone.

“Save the Date” postcards and invitations will be sent out soon, so if you don’t receive one, call Debra (Renfrew) Gilbert at 413-773-1057 or Carol (Franklin) Fletcher at 413-773-3211. You can also email Debra at: debbieg@crocker.com.

SERAHROSE ROTH HAS BEEN NAMED executive director of the Pioneer Valley Ballet. SerahRose was the ballet’s office manager before the promotion. Congratulations SerahRose!

COMMUNITY ACTION NETTED ALMOST $1 MILLION in tax refunds for local families this year. More than 500 tax returns were prepared by Community Action volunteers trained and certified by the IRS, who worked for the free tax assistance program administered by the anti-poverty agency that serves Franklin County.

SIX WOMEN AT GREENFIELD CENTER SCHOOL cut off their hair earlier this month to benefit Locks of Love, a nonprofit that accepts hair donations to make wigs for children without hair.

Three of the women were teachers, two were moms, and one was a grandmother. Three stylists, in addition to the Franklin County Technical School’s junior cosmetology class, did the cutting, which happened in front of the entire school.

What a nice thing to do!

Now on to what’s happening this week:

LEARN HOW THE SOUTH RIVER has shaped Conway when the Conway Historical Society presents, “A River Runs Through Conway,” with David Barten and Philip Kantor tonight at 7:30 at Conway Historical Society Museum, 50 Main St.

ANY DEERFIELD HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE interested in helping flag Deerfield cemeteries before Memorial Day should call Betty Hollingsworth at 413-665-4614. If the weather is good, she says flagging of Brookside Cemetery will be done this morning around 8:30. They’ll flag on Wednesday at the same time and place if the weather is bad.

NORTHFIELD COUNCIL ON AGING will hold a workshop on diabetes self-management beginning Wednesday and will be held every Wednesday from 12:15 to 2:45 p.m. through June 19 at Northfield Senior Center, 69 Main St.

For more information, contact Lesley Kayan at Franklin County Home Care Corp. at 413-773-5555, ext. 2297 or the senior center at 413-498-2186.

MOUNT GRACE LAND CONSERVATION TRUST will sponsor a hip-hop music party at the Rendezvous on Third Street in Turners Falls on Friday from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Special Mount Grace memberships will be available at the door. There will be a $5 cover charge.

Proceeds will benefit the Campaign for Affordable Farms: Red Fire Farm project, which is raising $400,000 for Mount Grace to purchase the 122-acre Red Fire Farm in Montague and partner with current owners Ryan and Sarah Voiland to hold the farm as a community resource.

SECOND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH ON COURT SQUARE in Greenfield will hand out free saplings on Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon in front of the church.

There will also be a number of children’s activities offered during that time.

Why? Members tell me it is because they care about the earth and want to encourage others to do so, as well.

THE ANNUAL BRIDGE OF FLOWERS Plant Sale, which will be held rain or shine is Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon at the Trinity Church lot in Shelburne Falls. Proceeds from the sale, which will feature hundreds of perennials, annuals, geraniums, wildflowers and more, will benefit the Bridge of Flowers.

For more information, call 413-337-4316.

GREENFIELD PUBLIC LIBRARY will hold a Journey To Oz book party on Saturday from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Children’s Librarian Kay Lyons says a big part of the event will be a costume contest, so go to the front of the library at 3:45 p.m. and get your number so you can be judged by your friends from Oz.

The free event, which is geared for children ages 7 and older, is made possible by Friends of the Greenfield Public Library. Younger children are invited to attend with a parent.

For more information about the event, call the children’s room at 413-772-1544, ext. 5 or stop in and talk to someone.

THE “MURPHTASTIC” RELAY FOR LIFE TEAM will hold a tag sale to raise money for the American Cancer Society on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 53 White Birch Avenue in Greenfield.

There will be something for everyone, I’m told.

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH IN ASHFIELD will celebrate the 9th anniversary of the Massachusetts Supreme Court’s decision affirming marriage equality on Saturday at 7 p.m.

For more information, contact Bruce Bennett at 413-628-4523 or Kate Stevens at 413-625-6967.

THE NORTHFIELD CARNIVAL AND FUN RUN will be held at Northfield Elementary School on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The run is for kids in kindergarten through grade 6. It is a half-mile run down Main Street. You should arrive earlier than 9 a.m. to register.

The carnival begins at 9:30 a.m. and will have game booths, DJ Ry will provide music, there will be a petting zoo and bounce house, and there will be food for sale.

For more information, email: northfieldelementarypto@gmail.com.

RELAY FOR LIFE WALNUT TEAM will hold a pool tournament on Saturday at the Shelburne Falls VFW at 10 Water St. Signup will be from 10 to 11 a.m. and the tournament will begin at 11. All proceeds will go to the American Cancer Society in memory of Kevin Bennett.

Entry fee is $15. There will be raffles and cash prizes. There will also be free food.

For more information, call 413-625-9277.

THE AMERICAN LEGION IN GREENFIELD will hold a large indoor tag sale to benefit the organization in the legion building on Wells Street on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. They are asking there be no early birds.

There will be furniture, books, appliances, tools, glassware, electronics, kitchen items, and more. Hamburgers, hot dogs and cold drinks will be sold from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

PIONEER VALLEY BALLET will host an open house on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at its studio at 116 Pleasant St. in Easthampton. Meet the staff, tour the studio, register for summer and school-year classes, and observe advanced dancers rehearse.

For more information on the free event, call 413-527-6363 or email: pvb@pioneervalleyballet.org.

CAMP HOWE IN GOSHEN, a nonprofit 4-H program that has served youth throughout Franklin County and beyond for years, is holding an alumni reunion on Saturday and Sunday, with family camping overnight on Saturday. Diemand Farm will hold a barbecue and there will be a ribbon-cutting on Sunday at the camp’s new facility. There will be tours of the facility during the weekend.

To contact Anita Fritz, a staff reporter at The Recorder, send an email to: anita.alice.fritz@gmail.com or call 413-772-0261, ext. 280 or call her cell at 413-388-6950. You can also reach Anita on Facebook at Anita’s Neighbors. Information to be included in Neighbors may also be sent to: neighbors@recorder.com up to noon on the day before you want it to run.